San Francisco Mission District residents sue city claiming Shotwell St. has turned into latest epicenter of prostitution

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — In San Francisco, a group of residents say they are suing the city claiming their street has turned into the epicenter of sex work.

Last year, ABC7 News reporter Luz Pena broke the story of prostitution on Capp Street which led to the city taking action but now, residents on another street say all the prostitution has migrated to their block.

Residents on San Francisco’s Shotwell Street say they have reached a breaking point.

“We have our kids come over and their friends and they have to see all this. It’s embarrassing,” said Esperanza Aparicio, a Shotwell Street resident. “I’m just tired. I hope the city does something about it.”

Esperanza Aparicio and her husband Reynaldo are part of a group of San Francisco residents who are pleading for the city to take action and stop the prostitution that takes over their street every night. On Wednesday, five residents announced they are suing the city.

EXCLUSIVE: SF residents say this street has turned into ‘Las Vegas Strip’ with alleged sex workers

“It’s like every night pimps and prostitutes come and take our street hostage and neighbors are shut in.” Here’s what a group of San Francisco residents witness on a nightly basis.

“We had no other choice,” said Ayman Farahat, one of the residents suing the city. “We have been talking to them for years. In this corner we had a meeting in June of 2023 to discuss exactly those issues. Nothing happened, but in the meantime, we had the attack by the sex worker, we had a murder, we had a motorcycle on the sidewalk, endless nights of traffic.”

Residents on Shotwell say they have tried everything to deter prostitution from their area.

In January, a group of them held signs and protested at night as pimps and sex workers were out. Some residents have confronted pimps and sex workers.

“They started pushing back against me and then one of them basically said, you know I have a knife, and she threatened me,” said Shotwell Street resident, Laura Sydell.

Some threats have led to attacks.

“There was a prostitute and we asked her to leave. She turned around and she sprayed me with mace. My eyes were all burnt,” said Shotwell Street resident, Reynaldo Aparicio.

Many of the people in the area noticed a clear shift about a year ago after the city placed road barriers on Capp Street to stop car traffic from prostitution. They say all that car traffic moved to Shotwell Street.

“We need to be very deliberate about how we solve them and just closing one street is not a deliberate solution,” said Farahat.

For the past year, Shotwell Street residents have been documenting the activity.

“We hear a lot of loud music, or yelling, or the prostitute beating up another prostitute then I get up and I start looking there and I’m all night watching,” said Aparicio.

After residents announced legal action, the mayor’s office responded, promising: “New strategies include new barriers on Shotwell Street to prevent individuals from using their vehicles for prostitution that also causes congestion and traffic issues, new public safety cameras, and the issuance of Dear John letters to help discourage the illegal behavior.”

Shotwell Street residents want to see permanent solutions.

“We want to be able to sleep at night, but we also don’t want others to suffer, and this is what the city will gladly do. It’s just push it one block to the other,” said Farahat.

According to the Mayor’s office, SFPD has made 72 arrests in multiple enforcement operations in the last four months around Shotwell Street.

In a statement, the San Francisco city attorney’s office said:

“Once we are served with the lawsuit, we will review the complaint and respond appropriately.”

Full statement from the mayor’s office:

“San Francisco, CA – Today Mayor London N. Breed and Supervisor Hillary Ronen announced a series of new measures to address illegal prostitution impacting Shotwell Street in the Mission neighborhood. These initiatives come out of a series of meetings City agencies have had with community members and are responsive to their requests.

These new strategies include new barriers on Shotwell Street to prevent individuals from using their vehicles for prostitution that also causes congestion and traffic issues, new public safety cameras, and the issuance of Dear John letters to help discourage the illegal behavior.

The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) has been enforcing laws and deploying strategies to combat the decades-long challenges associated with illegal prostitution around Shotwell Street in the Mission District. The SFPD has made 72 arrests in multiple enforcement operations in the last four months around Shotwell Street, a known corridor for illegal prostitution-related crimes.

SFPD patrol and plain clothes officers will continue prostitution enforcement operations in the Mission and hold individuals accountable for their actions who are coming into our neighborhoods to commit crimes and disturb the peace.

“By working with the community, we’ve developed solutions that will make the Mission safer for all,” said Mayor London Breed. “Our police officers will continue to enforce our laws, but these new strategies will help us build on that work and improve conditions in the neighborhood. This is part of our commitment to address significant challenges in the Mission neighborhood.”

“My office has given these neighbors and this issue a great deal of attention, and we have been working with City departments to come up with meaningful solutions, including outreach to sex workers to get them support and protections, and ultimately off the streets,” said Supervisor Hillary Ronen. “Real solutions require collaboration and creative thinking to tackle this age-old issue, not frivolous legal action.”

New, Expanded Strategies

The City, under the leadership of the Mayor’s Office, has been working with the community to develop additional strategies, including:

Barriers: City agencies, including SFMTA, will install and improve barriers along Shotwell Street, similar to the barriers that were installed on Capp Street.
Cameras: The City is working to install cameras that are highly visible to deter people from soliciting prostitution and related crimes. The cameras would also capture evidence to be used in enforcement operations. These would be new public cameras authorized under Prop E.
Dear John Letters: The City is launching so-called “Dear John” letters and encouraging community members to submit tips about people engaging in solicitation or other prostitution. Based on the circumstances, a warning letter will then be sent to the registered owner of the vehicle, indicating that it was seen in a known area for prostitution activity. The primary objective is to discourage such behavior by notifying drivers that they have been observed in the area. Additionally, it is possible that others residing at the vehicle owner’s address may also become aware of the letter’s content upon its arrival.

SFPD will continue to enforce the law by citing and arresting people engaged in prostitution-related activity.

“Illegal sex work degrades the quality of life in our city, and it cannot be tolerated,” said SFPD Chief Bill Scott. “Our officers will continue to enforce the law as we implement new strategies and technology to deter this high-risk behavior. Strategies like Dear John letters have been effective in other jurisdictions at deterring people from engaging in this activity and we expect to see similar results in San Francisco.”